Container



June 20, 1933. w. w. HARGRovEs CONTAINER Filed June 10, 1951 WwW/'00621.mv

abbo/1414445' particularly when filled andhavingother bas,

Patented June 20, 1933 seres f WILLIS W. IIARGROVES, F PORTSMOUTH,VIRGINIA, ASSIG-NOR TO PLANTERS MANU'` FACTUBING COMPANY, ING., (Tl1PRTSIVLOUTH, VIEGINIA, A CGRPORATION 0F VIRGINIA CONTAINER Applicationfiled June 10,

-1 velopedlto an enormous extent. Such sh1pment has been made possibleby the increased rapidity of transportation as well as by the improvedmethods of handling the produce. Due to these enormousactivitiesrelativ-e to 5, the shipment of produce during recent years,

the trade became highly competitive and a demand for sturdy butinexpensive containers arose. Many kinds of produce which were formerlyshipped in barrels and boxes have more recently been ytransported inbaskets. d

The well known round bottom basket wherein the strips of a mat are bentupward-V ly in a sweeping curve so that the ends of the strips form theside wall of the basket has been extensively used but many obj-ectionsare experienced in such use.v

Among the objections to this type of basket is the tendency of the sameto mushroom,

kets stacked thereupon. Such action results in the bulging ofthe sidewall of thebasket-to an extent where the shifting of the fruit or othercontents is permitted whereby the apf plication of pressure on suchproduce will often damageor destroy the same, or necessi-v taterepacking, this being particularly true during long transportation andduring long periodof storage.

` The objection to the round bottom basket was well recognized andbaskets of the type n'ow known as straight side or bent bottom basketswere employed withthe view to overcoming these objections. lVhile theuse of this type of basket largely avoided the objections encountered inthe use of the round bottom basket as abovereferred to, I Vhave foundthat serious objections developed in using the straight side or bentbottom basket 1931. Serial No. 543,430.

in the handling of produce in the manner developed during recent years.

One of the objections to the straight vSide,

basket is that an abrupt bend is made at the periphery of the bottomwhere the staves extend upwardly to form the side wall. I have foundthat these sharp bendsk or broken points in the several staves are suchthat the bottom of the basket often becomes completely separated orbroken from the side wall thereof. Attempts have been made to protectthe sharp bends at the lower end of the staves by extending the low-eredge of a hoop around the bottom of the basket so thaty the basket willbe ,supported upon the rim or edge of the hoop. Such a construction,while somewhat beneficial presents even further objections.

lt is an object of the present invention to produce a basket whichovercomes the objections referred to above.

The invention contemplates the formation of a basket from a mat having aradial series 0f crossed veneer strips, wherein the side wall of thebasket is substantially straight at its lower part and slightly flaredthereabove, and wherein the basket is reinforced with hoops formaintaining it in this form. Furthermore, it is contemplated to mergelthe side wall into the bottom of the basket by a sharp curve with thestrips being maintained unbroken throughout the length thereof.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a basketwhich because of this substantially straight lower portion 0f the sidewall and the flared upper portion thereof has a slightly inwardly curvedor angled side wall. It is intended that the bottomof the basket besuficiently concaved to accommodate the thicknesses of the matted stripsof which the basket is formed; and it is contemplated that the strips beeach sharply curved from the 'periphery of the bottom into the extendingside wall without being broken, and that a hoop or band be stapled tothe strips of the side wall at such distance above the bottom ofthebasket as to permit a slight flexing while maintaining the abruptcurve in each strip with its portion in the side wall of the basketbetween the curve and the `hoop being substantially straight. Y

From actual experience after storing of over one thousand cars of applesVin cold storage Warehouses, piled ten baskets high during the pastwinter, it' has been proven that shrinkage is so little that repackingwas not necessary whereas the commonly known straight side; basket hadto be re-A packed, which means the new design effects a tremendoussaving in labor and expense to fruit growers. With the common straightside basket the empty basket shows a high laboratory test from downwardpressure. When the same packa e is loaded with apples in storage ten higover a short period,

the staves or side wall bulge(s) and causes thefruit to settle andbruise or decay necessitating repacking when taken out of storage,whereas with my 'improved design the pressure from fruit on the insideis caught 'ein by the angle shape of staves and thereby withstands atremendous downward pressure which means an enormous saving to fruit andvegetable shippers by eliminating the repacking and spoilage.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Figure'l is a side elevation of a basket formed in accordance with thepresent invention. Y

' Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the basket shown in Fig. 1. Y

Fig. g3 is amat of crossed strips from which the basket shown in Fig. 1is adapted to be formed. j

Fig. 4: Vis a diagrammatic illustration of a former member showingv themannery in which the mat of staves is folded thereover to permit theapplication of thel retaining hoops, and Y Y p Fig. 5 is a view of thebottom of the basket as shown in Fig. 1..

Now referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 10 designates thebottom of the basket which isformed of the center portion of a mat ofveneer strips as shown in Fig. 3. At the center of the bottom 10 theusual fasteners 11 are employed, the fasteners actingy as a lmeans tohold the mat together during the formation of the basket, and alsoadding to the rigidity` of the basket after it.

has been formed. The strips forming the bottom of the basket are eachbent in the 10 to form a side wall 13. The lower portion of the wallv ispreferably formed with the staves above the curve 12 extending' at a;right angle or perpendicular to the bottom 10. This part of the wall isparallel to the axis of the basket. Each of the staves above this(portion of the wall is bent or curved outwar y to form an angle givinga comparatively straight line in the stave from the locality of mergerof the' said right angled portion with the upper portion. Due to thisarrangement of the staves an angled or concaved edect is given to theside wall. The upper ends of the staves are clamped between inner andouter hoops 14 and 15 respectively, and handles 16 are secured inposition by being passed through these hoops and bent tightly thereupon.

A hoop 17 is stapled to the staves in a line slightly above the centerof the side wall, and a lower hoop 18 is stapled about midway betweenthe curves 12 in the staves and the hoop 17. In the specific preferredpractice the distance `of hoop 18 which controls the perpendicular wallfrom the bottom curve is preferably one-third the distance from bottomof top hoop 15 to sharp curve 12, and it is in this line about the sidewall that the straight uniform lower portion is merged or angled intothe fiared upper portion. Therefore preferably two-thirds distance fromsharp curve l12 to lower edge of outside top hoop 15 exists in thewallabove the hoop 18. It is my idea that the length of these angles aswell as the degree may be varied and also that the spacing of hoops ascondition may necessitate from further experience may be varied.

In forming the mat of sta-Ves as shown in Fig. 3 logs of wood of thecharacter normally employed in the making of veneer baskets are boiledor steamed inthe usual manner. The logs of wood in this condition arethen veneered to form thin strips of substantially uniform width. Thestrips, while still moist and in some instances while'still warm, areplaced as shown in the mat and are fastened together ati theiroverlapping portions. The mats thus-formed are thereafter placed, whilestill moist and extremely pliable, in a machine of one of the well knowntypes, or are otherwise caused to be bent over the rounded edge 19 of aformer 20. The former is merely diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 4.The former`20 is concaved or hollow at the lower portion thereof toaccommodate the thicknesses of the overlapping portions of the strips atthe center of the mat as well as to permit the concaving of the bottom.In shaping the mat it is caused to be pressed securely against theformer by the member 21 and also caused to be folded over the side ofthe former by any of the well known mechanism. The member 21 ispreferably flanged as at 22 to assistthe bending of the strips andthemaintenance Vof the same in position for stapling. When tliebasket isin this position j as above set forth. Each hoop has preferably twentystaples driven therethrough for securing it in position upon the sidewall of the basket and two additional' staples are used to tie down theoverlapping ends thereof. When desired the presser member 21 may beextended at its center portion as at 28 to give the basket a slightlyconcaved bottom in the normal manner, so that when the basket is in usethe ra-ised bottom will aid in the ventilation ofthe contents thereof.

After a basket has been formed as abo-ve described it is permitted todry or'it is dried by artificial means whereupon the strips are madeless pliable andheld in the shape illustrated, although a certain degreeof resiliency is still retained in the strips.

It will be seen from the above that the wall of the basket issubstantially straight except lfor the slight iiare in its upper portionwhereby a curved or angled inwardly extending bend exists to aid instrengthening the side wall of a filled basket against downwardpressure. As the bottom of the basket and the side wall are joined by acomparatively sharp curve, the side wall will receive the major portionoftheV strain being placed upon the basket by the weight of any filledbaskets stacked thereupon. No rupture or substantial rupture exists inthe strips at the lines of bend so that the existence of splinters whichmight ordinarily damage the produce in baskets adj acently positionedwhile in storage or vtransportation is practically eliminated. I

The securing of the lower hoop to the side wall in spaced relation tothe sharp curves l2 in the strips at the junction of the side wall withthe bottom l0 is an important feature of the invention in that itpermits the slight flexing of the strips to cause the side wall tolargely bear the strain of downward pressure. Furthermore, themaintenance of the basket in this `form while avoiding the necessity forrupturing the strips by the insertion of Vrivets adjacent to the shortcurves therein, eliminates the rupture of the strips near theV curves,during the normal use intended for the same.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto. secure by Letters Patent is 1. A basket formed out of a plurality ofveneer strips each comprising a bottom member and a. pair of staves withthe staves being bent up and extending at angles relative to the bottommember, the bottom members of the strips crossing each otherdiametrically of the bottom of the basket so that the staves extendupwardly to form the side walls there- G5 of, inner and outerreinforcing hoops secured to the staves at their upper ends, anintermediate hoop encircling and secured to the staves in a lineadjacent the center of the side wall, and a lower hoop encircling thestaves in a line materiallyspaced from both the bottom of the basket andfrom said intermediate hoop, said staves being sharply bent but notbroken where the bott-om of the basket is merged into the side wallwhereby to permit the greatest supporting circumference of the bottom tobe not substantially removed from alignment with the side wall belowsaid lower hoop, the side wall being outwardly bent adjacent said lowerhoop to extend upwardly in substantially a straight line to the top ofthe basket.

2. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent to form a bottom portion and a pair of upstanding staveportions integral therewith,

the bottom portions being secured together in cross relationship to formthe basket bottom and the staveportions adapted to form the basket wall,the stave portions extending upwardly for a material distance from thesharp bend in substantially a straight line and being then angularlybent to further extend upwardly in substantially a straight line to thetop of the basket'thereby forming lower and upper straight portions onthe basket wall, the sharp bend at the points where the stave portionsjoin the bottom portions being such that the greatest supportingcircumference on the basket bottom is not substantially removed fromalignment with said lower straight portion, reinforcing hoops at the topof said stave portions, and a lower hoop adjacent the angular bend.

3. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent to form a bottom portion and a pair of upstanding staveportions integral therewith,

the bottomportions being secured together in cross relationship to formthe basket bottom and they stave portions adapted to form the basketwall, the stave portions extending upwardly for a material distance fromthe sha-rp bend in substantially a straight line and being thenangularly bent to further extend upwardly in substantially a straightline to the top of the basket thereby forming lower and upper straightportions on the. basket wall, the sharp bend at the points where thestave portions join the bottom portions being such that the greatestsupporting circumference on the basket botto-m is not substantiallyremoved from alignment with said lower straight portion, reinforcinghoops at the top of said stave portions, a lower-hoop adjacent theangular bend, and anintermediate hoop secured to said stave portions inthe upper straight portion of the basket.

4. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip. beingsharply bent to les form -awbottom portion and a pair of upstandingstave portions integral therewith, the bottom portions Vbeing securedtogether in cross relationship to form the basket bottom and the staveportions adapted to form the basket wall, the stave portions beingsubstantially vertical for a material Vdistance aboveV the bottom andbeing then angularly bent to further extend in substantially a 1Qstraight line to the `top of the b asket thereby Y vertical portion,reinforcing hoops at the top of said stave portions, and a lower hoopadjacent the angular bend whereby to permit a slight flexing of thestaves below said hoop.

5. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent to form a bottom portion and a pair of upstanding staveportions integral therewith, the bottom portions being secured togetherin cross relationship to form the basket bottom and the stave portionsadapted to form the basket wall, the stave portions being substantiallyvertical for a' material distance above the vbottom and being thenangularly bent to further extend in substantially a straight line tothetop of the basket thereby forming a vertical portion and a portion ofgradually increasing diameter on the .basket wall, the sharp bend at thepoints where the stave portions join the bottom portions being suchthat'the greatest supporting circumference on the basket bottom is notsubstantially removed from alignment with said vertical portion,reinforcing hoops at the top of said stave portion, a lower hoopadjacent the angular bend whereby to permit a slight ieX- ing ofy thestaves below said hoop, and an intermediate hoop secured to said stavesin the portion of gradually increasing diameter.

6. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent to form a bottom portion and a pair of upstanding staveportions integral therewith, the bottom portions being secured togetherin cross relationship to form the basket bottom and the stave portionsadapted to form the basket wall, the sharp bend at the points the bottomand being then angularly bent to extend in substantially a straight lineto the top of the'baskety whereby to provide a basket wall having alower portion of substantially uniform diameter and lan upper portion ofgradually increasing diameter thus permitting a substantially verticalthrust in the `basket bottom, reinforcing hoops secured to the top ofthe stave portions, and a lower hoop spaced from the sharp bend wherebyto permit a slight flexing of the stave portions below said hoop.

7. ,A basket comprising a plurality of'veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent but not broken to form a bottom portion anda pair ofintegral stave portions, the bottom portions being secured'V together incross relationship to form an arched basket bottom and the staveportions beingadapted to form the basket wall, said basket *wall vbeingof greater diameter at the top` than at thefbottom, the sharp bend atthe points where the stave portions join the bottom portions being suchthat the greatest supporting circumference on the basket .bottomapproximates alignment with the basketV wall, a reinforcing hoop at thetop of said stave portions, anda lower reinforcing hoop located belowthe center of the basket wall and spaced from the sharp bend at thebottom of the basket at suchy a distance from the sharp bend as tomaintain the sharpness of the aforesaid bend when the basket is weightedand at the same time permit a slightflexing of thestaves be tween saidlower hoop and the bottom plane of the basket. Y

8. A basket comprising a plurality of veneer strips, each strip beingsharply bent but not broken to form ay bottom portion and a pairofintegral stave portions, the bottom portions being secured together incross relationship to form an arched basket bottom and the staveportions being adapted to form the basket wall, said basket wall beingof greater diameter at the top than at the bottom, the sharpbend at thepoints where the stave portions ]om the bottom portions being such thatthe greatest supporting circumference on the basketbottom approximatesalignment with the basket wall, reinforcing hoops at the top of saidstave portions, a lower reinforcing hooprlocated below the center of thebasket wall and spaced from the sharp bend Vat the bottom of thebasket-at such a distance from l w WILLIS W. HARGROVES.

